The Lion King III: We Are One
by Sunnwingss
Summary: Kiara and Kovu are happy to help another pride in need, but with new lions and new rulers living at Pride Rock, the power of the monarchy is shaken. And a solution seems impossible to find, because the new pride's only problem is that they fit in.
1. Prelude

Author's Note:

Disclaimer: All characters from the original Lion King are owned by Disney… all of the other guys are owned by me. :3

Almost every character in the Lion King has a name that means something in the Swahili language, so to keep my story authentic, all of my character names translate into Swahili too. Every time I introduce a new character I will say what their name means in Swahili up in the author's note. Here's the first two:

Jasiri – means "dare, brave, or bold"

Makini – means "calmly, quietly, and with dignity"

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Sarabi's lips curved into a smile as she saw the happy new family come out to play. The two little cubs were weaving gleefully through their parents legs which were stilt-like in comparison to their own. Those two little ones looked so much like their parents, Sarabi noted. Their genetic line was so clear it was impossible not to recognize who their kin was. Little Jasiri lived for fun, just like her mother, but Sarabi saw so much of Nala in the energetic cub too. A combination of Kovu's edge and Kiara's heart seemed to have blended well in the young princess. Sarabi saw that Kiara's second born was playful too. She watched him tug on a stick that had his sister yanking on the other end. Kiara was laughing gleefully as she watched the pair and their father Kovu cheered them on. They were such a perfect family. Makini won the stick from his sister and set it down at his paws with a satisfied smile. Sarabi always saw him act in this manner. It was as if he already realized that he had nothing to prove; that gloating was unnecessary. He was always the most gracious winner, and he reminded Sarabi so much of the one lion she missed most in the world. Makini was more like Mufasa than even Simba was.

Sarabi watched the playful scene with joy in her wrinkled eyes. She felt blessed to have lived to see the births of her great grandchildren. The retired queen was assured that the pride would continue to prosper into the future; she knew what great leaders both cubs could be. Makini had a leader's noble qualities and pure heart, and Jasiri was bold and clever enough to surely be able to handle her own empire. Sarabi just hoped that the choice over which should rule wouldn't lead to disaster, as it had for Mufasa and his brother. As long as life in the pride stayed the way it was Sarabi was confident that everything would come together smoothly this time. A happy childhood can save any lion's future. As she watched the children play Sarabi felt in her heart that nothing would be able to come between this family; not this time.

The aged lioness looked up to the sky and silently wished for peace for her pride once she left to join her mate in the heavens. Her wise eyes met with the daytime's unseen stars and she knew her love was watching over her and his pride. She smiled reminiscently and cast her peaceful wish into the cloudy sky. _As long as peace prospers everything will be alright_, she thought, _as long as our sun keeps shining…_

As she closed her eyes it started to rain…


	2. Chapter 1

Author's Note:

Disclaimer: All characters from the original Lion King are owned by Disney… all of the other guys are owned by me. :3

New Character Names (lot's of new guys this chapter!):

Maliki – means "king"

Malkia – means "queen" (Kia for short)

Tai – means "eagle"

Jema – means "nice" or "good"

Noki – means "love"

Tuli – means "quiet"

Nyera – means "to joke"

Rubani – means "leader"

Not all of these characters are significant right now, so don't be overwhelmed by the crazy amount of original characters! 0.o

Are you ready cause it's a long one:3

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"The river!" the soaked grey lioness screamed as she charged into the cave at full force. Panic could be seen in her orange eyes. "The river, Maliki, the river!"

Maliki's eyes went wide. He looked in shock at the news his mate had brought. He had been refusing to know that it could be coming. "Not again…" he whispered.

"Maliki don't just stand there, let's go! Our son is out there! Tai is out there Maliki we have to do something!" Malkia said as she twitched and paced in panic and worry.

"I'll go find Tai. Kia you find everyone else. Round them up and prepare to leave these lands. We can't hold our ground against a flood. Our only choice is to run from it," the king said in a serious tone. His face was stern and strong, but it was impossible to hide the fear for his son's life from Kia. She was the only one who could read his eyes.

The big orange male took off out of the cave and towards the river. He saw Kia race out after him and turn away to search for others. She soon vanished out of sight for the rain made it hard to see. The wind and the downpour made Maliki's black mane look like it had barely survived a hurricane. It wisped and curled so fiercely it made the large king look like a powerful god bravely battling a villainous storm.

Maliki ran on until he felt his front paw sink into relatively deep water. He tried to look down to his paws and what surrounded them, but the rain was falling so hard that he couldn't see more than a foot. It had to be a puddle, it just had to be. But as Maliki carefully walked forward he felt a current gently tug at his legs, and floating debris were sliding past him. Puddles don't have currents, and that was a fact that was hard to swallow. The rain was so loud it seemed to be roaring. But even pouring rain couldn't produce such a thunderous voice. The source of the roar had to be rapids; rapids in the flooded river. Maliki swallowed hard. The river's old bank was still far away, he had only been around a third of the way there. And yet here he stood, at the edge of a flood so great it could bring the death of his entire pride. Just like the flood that had killed his parents when he was just a cub. It was like it was happening all over again.

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"Daddy where's mommy?" little Tuli asked. The small light blond cub was shaking from the cold rain. "Daddy I'm cold."

"I know honey, but we can't go in just yet. We have to find your mother. And I can't let you travel to the caves by yourself in this weather, it's just too dangerous." Noki said as he bent down to clean his daughter's coat with his warm tongue. He was so worried for his mate Jema. She was still out there somewhere in this terrible storm. But what could he do? Searching any longer would be pointless. She could have already made her way back to the caves by now for all he knew not to mention that he couldn't see past his nose anyway. But he couldn't just go back and leave her out here. What if Jema was hurt? What if she was struggling out in the flooded river somewhere? But at the same time he had to consider Tuli. He had to get her out of the rain soon. No answer seemed right, and the pale orange male was at a loss for what to do.

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Kia could see the outline of a lioness through the curtain of grey rain.

"Nyera!" she yelled, and she saw the shadow turn to face her and run to greet her.

"Kia!" Nyera cheered as she greeted her friend. "I'm so glad I found someone else!"

Nyera turned her head over her shoulder. "Rubani come over here I found Kia!"

Malkia looked questioningly as she saw the vague form of another lion appear out of the rain. She smiled when she saw that is was in fact Rubani, one of her mate's brothers.

"I'm so glad I found you two!" Kia said trying to talk over the grumble of the rain. "Maliki is out searching for Tai and I haven't seen any others. Have you?"

The two shook their sopping heads at her. That means that there were still four lions unaccounted for; Tai, Noki, Jema, and Tuli. There were four more to find, five including Maliki, and not nearly enough time.

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"DADDY!!!" Tai screamed for the fifth time. He could see his father's outline at the edge of the water. Tai was becoming frustrated with his father's apparent lack of hearing skills. The cub was screaming his head off and his dad didn't seem to have noticed. "DAAAADDDDDYYYY!!!"

Maliki flicked his ear in the direction of the small noise he had heard. His heart skipped a beat as his cub's voice registered in his mind. It had been small and far away, but it had been there. The king swiveled his head toward the source of the sound and squinted as he searched for a form through the curtain of rain. He could make out the form of a rock in the water. But he couldn't tell if something was on the rock or not.

"Tai!" The male boomed. "Tai I'm here! Keep talking I'll find you!"

"Okay Dad!" He heard a high pitched voice respond. Maliki almost chuckled at the lack of fear or concern in his son's voice; almost. But even though Tai saw this as a fun adventure, Maliki knew very well just how dangerous this situation was.

The muscled king splashed through the shallows and began to swim against the current to the rock where his son surely lay. He heard his son shout to watch out for a tree coming down stream, and he quickly changed course to avoid its collision. He kept his eye on the rock at all times; he was more driven then ever.

With a last surge Maliki grabbed the rock in his paws and got a good grip on it in a place where the current was weaker. But as he looked onto the rock he saw that his son was no where to be found. Oh no, he was too late! Tai must have drowned or was floating away from him downstream right now!

"That's the wrong rock Dad! Dad I'm over here! Look over here! No not over there over HERE! Yeah I'm right here!" Tai screamed as he rolled his eyes. He swore his father was losing it. He was making this rescue much less heroic and adventuresome that was for sure. Tai stood on his hind legs and moved his paws around in the air for his father to see. He was quite proud of his balance skills on the slippery rock. His father was almost at the correct rock now, and Tai leaned over the edge to greet him. When Maliki tried to grip the rock Tai tried to help by tugging on his mane to try to hoist him onto the boulder. It didn't help at all but in Tai's mind it certainly had.

"Come on son I've got you now I'm going to bring you back to shore okay?" Maliki said in a careful tone in case Tai happened to be in panic. Knowing his son it wasn't likely, but it was in Maliki's fatherhood genes just to be safe. He reached up and grabbed his dark orange son by the scruff of his neck and turned to paddle back to shore. He had the current now so it wasn't too hard, but he had to stay focused on keeping both of their heads above the water that he wasn't paying attention to where he was going, and he kept bumping into rocks. Soon he would be back to shore and all would be okay. He was confident Kia had managed to find everyone. They would all be out of this mess in no time, all he had to do was get to shore.

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Jema woke up coughing up water. Everything that had just happened was a blur. Had she drowned? Was she dead? Was this heaven? Why was heaven so wet? Her mind began to race with questions that only made her headache worse. She couldn't remember anything. Where was she? Why was it raining? Who were those two lions standing over her? Why were they looking at her like that? Why was one licking her?

"Stop." Jema said weakly to the lion that was bent over and licking her. Her head was pounding. She tried to analyze the situation but her head hurt so bad she couldn't concentrate.

"But honey it's me," Noki said carefully to his mate. He and Tuli had found her only a moment ago, washed up on the shore just like she lay now. She had a huge swollen bump on the side of her head. He was scared she had been dead when they found her, but thank you to all gods and kings of the past she had only been unconscious.

"Honey it's me, Noki, remember me? Does your head hurt? Do you remember what happened?" Noki asked carefully. Jema's eyes just stared off into the distance, and she didn't seem to register what he was saying. All signs lead him to the conclusion that she had a concussion. He actually hoped she did, it would be far better than permanent amnesia. If it was a concussion she would be back to normal soon.

"Jema, can you stand up? I need you to stand up and follow me okay? I'll help support you. You're safe now okay?" Jema heard the words enter her head but they washed right back out of it. Nothing was sticking, nothing was making sense. She felt like the world was swirling and she was just taking a nap and letting it continue to swirl by.

"Oh, Okay…" She answered unsurely. She didn't know who this male was or what he had even said. She couldn't tell whether she was dreaming or if this was happening. She couldn't tell if she was swimming or if it was raining, if she was sitting or standing, if she was walking or running. All she knew was there was something warm holding her up on one side. If it was a lion, it must be nice one to go through all that trouble, that's all she could manage to think.

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"Kia look I see the others!" Rubani yelled out as he saw three shadows approach the cave. He darted out with joy to greet his brother Noki and his mate and daughter, but he halted when he saw Jema staring blankly past him and walking strangely.

"She's had a concussion." Noki explained, reading his brother's mind. "It's not a bad one she can still talk a little, she should be okay soon we just need to give her a bit."

Rubani quickly nodded and ran around to Jema's other side to help her walk into the shelter of the cave.

Nyera looked worriedly at her best friend. She's never seen Jema look so far gone. It scared her down to the core. But a quick glance at Jema's daughter, Tuli, made her realize that the cub was even more scared than she was.

"It's okay Tuli, she'll be just fine a promise." Nyera soothed as she pulled Tuli in close to her and began to clean her fur from the rain. Since Tuli was her best friend's cub Nyera felt very close to her. Noki smiled at Nyera in thanks as he and Rubani tended to his mate.

Kia looked at her pride, happy to see it coming back together. But seeing that family arrive safely together only made her remember that her family had yet to return. Rubani was stepping up and supporting everyone for the moment. Everything in the caves seemed stable. Kia decided that her family needed her more than her pride did right now, and so her only choice was to go find them.

"Rubani, you're in charge. I'm going to find them." Kia said matter-of-factly as she turned to exit the large cave. She didn't need to explain who "they" was. Everyone in the cave already knew. Rubani nodded silently and looked Kia in the eyes to assure her all would be okay. He understood why she felt the need to leave.

"Good luck." He whispered as she disappeared into the rain.

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Kia felt relief and fear flood through her veins as she saw her mate and her son out in the river. She was relieved that they were both alive and okay, and that Maliki had managed to find Tai, but she was scared beyond belief that they were fighting a deadly river trying to make it back to the shore. Kia's heart urged her to jump into the river to help them, but her brain told her to stay where she was; that putting herself in danger wouldn't help the situation. Kia closed her mouth and watched with frayed nerves as Maliki fought the rapids. She didn't dare speak because she didn't want to hinder his concentration.

Maliki had thought swimming with the current would be easier than swimming against it, but he had been wrong. The current was carrying him wherever it pleased and making it near impossible to go in the direction that he wanted to. The river was washing him this way and that, and his muscles were cramping from trying to fight it. He saw another rock come into view and he paddled to avoid it. Then another rock cluster, which he narrowly avoided as well. Then another rock, which came out of nowhere and smacked his right in the chest, knocking his breath away for a moment. He grunted at the impact but kept up his effort to fight the current.

"Dad, look out a tree!" Tai yelled. He saw a tree up ahead that was caught between two rocks and stretching perpendicular to the current. The water was rushing over and around it but two lions wouldn't be able to dance around it like water. If they didn't move they would slam right into it. "Dad seriously! Look out! Dad! Da…!"

The two smashed into the tree snapping it clean in half. Maliki hadn't managed to dodge it in time. Tai was ripped out of his father's mouth and went spiraling into the angry water. He struggled around but he couldn't figure out which way was up. He was all alone now, he could see his father or any rock or branch to grab on to. He was locked in the depths of a flood and he couldn't find the key to get out. He paddled around feverishly but the current kept pulling him under. Slowly his vision began to fuzz over with black, his muscles became lax, and the young cub slipped into unconsciousness.

"NO!" Kia screamed from the shore as her two loved ones collided with a thick log. Her heart overcame her brains and she dove into the river at full force. Adrenaline raced through her veins as she searched feverishly for the two. They were underwater and she couldn't see either. She called out their names and got nothing. Suddenly she heard a great gasp and whipped her head around to see Maliki break the surface of the water. He took one breath before slipping back under. Kia dove down after him. The rapids were becoming worse and worse as they raced downstream and she had to save her two boys fast. She swam under her mate and pushed him up with all her might to meet the surface again. He breathed wildly and gasped as he tried to catch his runaway breath. His lungs burned badly and he couldn't seem to get enough air as he desperately needed. "Get... gasp Tai… gasp" He puffed. It was all he could manage to say before sinking back down.

Kia grabbed him again and brought him back up. "Keep your head above the water!" She ordered as she searched for a rock to leave him on so she could search for Tai. Unfortunately no such rock could be found. All the rocks were under water now, doing nothing more than creating more turbulence in the river. Kia took one more glance at Maliki to make sure he was breathing and then took off in search of Tai. She plunged under water and opened her eyes, ignoring the sting. She looked all around but couldn't find anything. She felt her leg bash against a rock and realized she had to watch were she was being swept or she wouldn't be able to help either of her boys. She gave up momentarily to get a breath of air. She broke the surface and glanced around for Maliki again, but all she saw was water and rain. She screamed his name, then Tai's name, and nothing came back to answer her. She yelled in frustration and dove back under to find them again. But before she could open her eyes under water she slammed into an underwater boulder and felt pain as a few of her ribs broke. She gasped under water and quickly recoiled realizing she had pulled water into her lungs. She thrashed trying to hit the surface but everything spun and burned and she couldn't see which way was up. Then everything slid to black.

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The End! Ahh cliffhanger! Don't you just hate that? Are they alive are they dead are they unconscious?!?! Who knows! Well I do but that's beside the point. Anyway there's your chapter, I hope you enjoy! More coming soon! And yes the next chapter will fit the prelude and chapter 1 together I promise:3


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